


Finding Peace

by RedWorld



Category: Team Fortress 2
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-05-21
Updated: 2015-06-26
Packaged: 2018-03-31 15:29:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 15,093
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3983272
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RedWorld/pseuds/RedWorld
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Scout hates working at Chicken Dynamo, not to mention his life at home. His days working get worse as construction workers buy and build on the land across from his job. The leader of the project is now a potential regular customer, and Scout hates it.</p>
<p>Will it be too much? Or will the tensions outside of work bring them closer?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Beginning of Something Worse

**Author's Note:**

> It's been a long time since I actually wrote fanfiction, and since I no longer have an RP partner, here I am. This is my first Team Fortress 2 fanfic and although the pair is rare, please enjoy it! If there's any mistakes, please let me know. I shall try to get a chapter in every Friday, if this gets enough likes or bookmarks. The rating will also rise as the fanfic gets deeper into the story.
> 
> Once again, enjoy~!

Scout knew the chicken was delicious here, but working at the place, actually putting the chicken in the batter, frying it, and serving it to customers, was a terrible thing to do. He needed the money to move out of his mother’s house, tired of all of the complaining she did, and to escape the long nights of her drinking and saying “I hate you!” and a few other choice words. Finding out that Chicken Dynamo was hiring, and finally finding out he got the job, was the best and worst decision he had made.

He was covered in grease at all times and when coming home, his mother would either complain about it or, if the smell or her drunk status was bad enough, kick him out of the house. He was used to it by now. Besides, he didn’t care. When that happened, he would sleep on a nearby bench and in the morning, go to his local gym to take a shower. Being a member there had benefits, but they never had a place to clean clothes. He couldn’t clean his clothes with a direct deposit.

So he would go to work with his greasy dirty clothes and he too would get just as greasy as they were by the middle of the day. Around two in the afternoon was when the pretty girls would come in, and he had tried to flirt with them, but no matter what he would do or say, he would always overhear the girls, talking about how they were better than a greaseball or a fast food worker, and he knew that they were right. He hadn’t had a date in over two years, mostly because he was unemployed. Heck, besides the porn he could find, he never had seen a girl’s body personally. All he wanted to do was not be the last of his brothers to not get laid. He knew it was a match between the middle and the youngest, him, so he had to do something. But what? Become C.E.O of this dump? He didn’t think so. Besides, it would take years before he could even do that.

All he could do was prepare and serve the chicken. Over and over, day after day, it was the same thing. Cook, serve, cook, serve, a bit of handwashing, then all over again. When he did get a break, he would look outside across the street where there was a small patch of greenery left. It gave him a bit of hope, kind of like the little purple flowers growing on the land of it, but he wouldn’t dare tell anyone that. It seemed too girly and he was sure that he would be made fun of.

But he felt his hopes drop when he noticed that there was a sign posted on the lawn of the land. For some reason, it bothered him, and the rumors of another apartment complex being built there were agonizing him. He kept the stress inside, not wanting to outright protest anything (like anyone would be with him about this.) He just wanted to keep it the same as it was before, wanting to admire the small flowers growing there.

As the construction began on the first day, Scout could feel his hopes being dug up with the dirt that was being dug there. The frame of the project was just beginning today and he could feel frustration with the sounds of the machines outside. He hated the sounds of those damn machines and he just wanted to go home and lock himself in his room, covering his ears with his trusty headphones. Some house music would be really nice to jam out to by now.  
For three hours, the noises continued to rock Chicken Dynamo, driving Scout to the breaking point. He swore that if he heard just another moment of digging outside that he was going to flip his lid and beat the hard working men out there. Sure, they might earn more money than him, union or not, but there was much quieter work than this. Not even his voice was as loud as those machines were. He supposed now he knew how it felt to receive the opposite end of annoying people.

But the noises finally stopped for the moment and he felt like praising a god. He could finally think again and he was happy to think those thoughts. The first thoughts on his mind were how much he wanted to kill those men outside. They were terrible for working this during his day at his own job and he was just about to give a phone call to the manager, saying that he was going to get the night shift or else he was going to quit.

Scout’s stomach sinked when he heard the bell of the entrance ring and saw one of the men from the work site come in. He wore a pair of black overalls with a blue shirt underneath him, covered slightly in dirt. He was carrying a blueprint in his hand, rolled up and relatively clean from the dirt beginning to cake on his outfit. Not to mention the backwards construction hat and a pair of goggles. Those reminded the young man just how much he truly hated construction workers. They ruined everyone’s life.

The older man sighed, his voice a bit raspy either from yelling so much or from slight old age. He wasn’t too old - his early to mid 30s - but he wasn’t necessarily young. With the goggles, it was hard to tell what he was thinking as well. They made him seem expressionless, but the small smile on his face made him look content to the world. He was more than that however. He was elated to start his project, but before continuing he needed something in his stomach.

He approached the counter, ignoring the scowl on the young man’s face as he lifted his hard hat for just a moment, revealing a bald head. He didn’t mind showing it off sometimes, but after the polite gesture, no one would ever see his bald head again. The helmet kept his head warm and it stayed on him at all times, especially when he was working. He began to speak in a soft tone, yet thick Texas accent.

“Howdy partner. The name’s Dell Conagher and I’m the one who’s seein’ the project through. I reckon, if you don’t mind, that I’ll be--”

“Hey hey! Woah woah woah, so lemmie get this straight buddy. You… YOU… are in charge ‘a all of dis!? You can’t do dis! I have to freakin’ work through this crap!”

Dell was taken aback on what Scout was saying. He frowned as he raised an eyebrow to the boy, even though he knew he couldn’t see it. He sighed and he unrolled the blueprint on the counter, pointing at the numbers on the side. Scout was rather confused at what he was looking at exactly, but it looked to be a building of some sort. The counterattack started when the older man began to explain the situation.  
“Look boy, I paid for this here lot. We’re erectin’ an apartment buildin’ and I’m seein’ that it’s built before the end of the year. If you don’t like it, you should probably find another job, son.”

Dell knew nobody liked construction workers. They made a whole bunch of noise and even he sometimes had a headache through it all. But they were here to do a job, just like the young man in front of him. His contractor told him to do this, and if he didn’t do it he was going to get fired. Just like the person behind the counter would if he didn’t do his job. Seeing that Scout was silenced after what he said, he began to speak again.

“As I was sayin’, I’ll be comin’ to your establishment to grab a bite to eat every once in a while. I ain’t askin’ for a discount or anythin’, but I wanted to share with you and your manager what will be built. But seein’ as you don’t care we’ll get right to orderin’ three buckets on your finest chicken.”

No. No. Scout wasn’t going to let this asshole get away with just ordering chicken after disturbing and destroying the only means of beauty outside of such a dank establishment. He slammed his hands down on the counter and everyone looked up to the commotion happening up front. The young man tried to lift himself from the table, trying to look stronger and bigger than the man behind the counter who was looking surprisingly calm for being threatened by a Bostonian. Scout raised his voice.

“Oh no you ain’t! You know better than to prance in here, buildin’ on a piece of land without even lettin’ me know beforehand! You sir should be ashamed!”

“And you, son, should be ashamed at workin’ in a place like this.”

Scout was severely taken aback by Dell’s comment. His eyes widened, showing more of the blue tints inside. Him? Ashamed? It took him years just to find a job! Just like it would take years to go to… construction school or whatever to find a job like this one. Knowing everything was lost, especially his words, the young man turned his back to the customer and finally began to prepare the buckets for him.

Once again, it was a wash, rinse, and repeat procedure. Batter, fry, place in bucket. Over and over and over until each bucket was filled with at least two pieces of each part of the chicken. It was tiresome, especially since he spilled a bit more grease on himself while doing this. Repeating the procedure multiple times did cause injury at times. Well, once a day, but still, he was accident prone. At last, he finished the buckets and slid them to the older man.

“That’ll be $28.37.”

Dell reached into his utility belt and pulled out a wallet, fat, probably from all the buildings he had to build and successfully building them. From it he pulled out a $50 bill and handed it to Scout. He looked at the money with wide eyes, never getting anything like this before. Still he knew the procedure of hiding it under the drawer and he pulled out the change he needed to give back to him, after typing it in the register. He gave it to the construction worker and gave a smile.

“Much obliged.”

With that, Dell scooped up the buckets and made his way out the door, using his shoulder to open the door. Scout watched as he left and scowled as he watched him and his friends laugh about some joke that was being made. He didn’t know if it was about him or not, but he did know that he hadn’t had that connection with anyone for a long time. The job killed his social life, not that he really had much of one anyway. He wished he could have a friend to just laugh at dumb jokes with and feast over this disgusting ass - err, he meant delicious addicting chicken. (Eating here on a daily basis was getting to him.)

For now though, all he wanted was to go home, and he wanted to take a break from that now more than agonizing hell.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After a violent fight with his mother and her boyfriend, Scout is thrown out of his own home. Will he be forced to live the homeless life, or is there a small glimmer of hope?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome to another exciting chapter of "Finding Peace!" As before, this is the raw work and hasn't been proofread, so if you find any errors, please let me know!
> 
> Also, there may not be an update until the second Friday of June due to me going to a convention. I just hope you kudoers and bookmarkers can live without me for that weekend! (It is a MAY, so there might be an update. We'll see!)
> 
> Enjoy~!

Scout’s day ended around seven in the evening. He was always tired by that time, not to mention quite hungry. Sometimes he didn’t eat at Chicken Dynamo because he wanted to keep the taste he loved fresh, but even on good days, there were some days that just a small whiff of the facility at all made him want to hurl. He would keep it in of course, but at the end of the day he was still very hungry. He couldn’t wait to get home to have one of his mother’s cooked meals. If she was cooking at night.

After punching out, he rushed outside of the door and he gave a sigh, but soon realized that the noise outside was just as bad as the stench of fried chicken he was forced to take in for eight hours. Those men were still working on digging that hole in the ground. They were halfway to the point they wanted to get at, but of course nowhere near finished building the damn complex. Why didn’t they just give up? It would be a lot easier, Scout thought.

But then he saw /him./ That country-yapping construction worker with his helmet on backwards, just like over half of the other workers. He was smiling as he knew the plans were very slowly coming together. What was he? Some kind of god? Scout knew he was going to change his thoughts. The young man saw the opportunity to flip him the bird when he was looking at him and he scowled as he did so. The older man frowned and he spoke in a barely loud voice.

“Didn’t your mama ever teach you some manners? City kids these days…”

Scout groaned as he knew he didn’t really piss off the man, so he left him to rot in the grave that he and his employees were digging. How was he so calm at the gesture he gave to him? Usually people would jump at the one who flipped them off, but he supposed that he was too busy. He didn’t care, for his own job made a lot more sense. Make chicken, get money. Building something usually had money be put into it for materials and decorating. Stupid.

As he walked home, he realized it was a bit chilly unlike the last few days that were warm enough to take a pleasant stroll. He shivered gently as he huffed, blowing on his hands, trying to warm them so that he could rub them on the cold spot of his arms. Why of all days did it decide to be so damn cold? He supposed it could be because the season wasn’t stable enough. It was in the middle of spring, and there were going to be a few more days of cold nights before it actually decided to stay warm. He supposed he could deal with it for now.

But at last, he finally made it home and he gave a slight laugh as he knew that there was going to be a furnace warming the whole building with a cooked dinner just waiting for him on the table. Sure, he could go out, but it would defeat the purpose of the meal being prepared by his own mother. She always made some good cooking. He opened the door and walked in with a huge grin upon his face.

“Hey ma! I’m-- what!?”

Of course, he wasn’t expecting this at all. On the table, there was nothing but two wine glasses half filled with a sweet red wine. Not only his mother, but another man was there with her. It was her recent boyfriend, who she claimed to know for years and years, but how could anyone know anybody that has a mask on? For all Scout knew that could’ve been a robber and he could’ve robbed his store. But really, who would rob from a fast food joint?

The worst part was that Scout did know him. Maybe not his name - he never caught it, - but he has seen his mother with this man on and off ever since he could remember. He acted like a father figure, but not a very good one. He hated the man’s French accent and he absolutely hated the fact that he was a neat freak. He really didn’t care if anything got on his suit, which he paid so much money for. Hell, that money could’ve been to get an apartment for himself! If only he could have that kind of money… Still, seeing red, he shouted.

“What the hell man!? It’s my time to be with my ma! You had all freakin’ day to drink and make my life just as miserable as it is when you ain’t around!”

The mother and well dressed man looked to Scout and gave a scowl. They never liked him talking down about each other and at this time, the woman was getting to the tipsy side, so her true attitude was in its first stage. She got up, holding onto the man for balance, and glared at her son. She raised her hand and upon it was a ring, something Scout had never seen before. His eyes widened as she explained herself.

“If you must know Scout, Jean and I have recently got engaged. You have no reason to talk down on us like that young man!”

Never in his life had Scout seen so much red. He was shaking with rage and he was sure that he lost what was left of his thought process. He gave a loud scream as reached the closest thing that he could find and threw it at them. He didn’t realize that it was another wine glass, but the couple were able to dodge it in time, thanks to Jean’s quick reflexes. It shattered against the wall, pieces of glass flying everywhere, but the suited man ran across the room and before Scout could react, he tackled the boy and pinned him on the ground.

“Bon dieu, garçon!! Zhat was made from pure crystal!! I paid $500 a glass! You are going to pay for zhose!”

This reminded Scout of his younger days with his brothers. They would pin him down like this, and although that was a good memory, this wasn’t. He suddenly felt a heat on his neck as Jean pressed the burning part of his cigarette on the skin. Scout gave a scream out and looked at his mother, who stood there and did nothing. He was appalled by her actions to say the least and for once in his life, he wished she could just stand up for him, just this once.

After a moment, Scout finally found the strength to push Jean off of him and into the table. He gave a loud yelp and then groaned as he was dazed from the feeling of the wind being forced out of him. The woman gasped and ran to his side, while stumbling, making sure he was still alive. She looked up to Scout with a glare darker than any glare she has given him before. They were both thinking the same thing.

“Scout… Get out of here. You ain’t allowed to come here again, you hear me!?!?”

“I don’t fuckin’ care ma! I was gunna get out anyway! You ain’t nothin’ but a bitch to me my whole life! You allowed him to burn me, ma! YOU ALLOWED IT! You ain’t nothin’ to me anymore! I. AM. OUT! Have fun with your cheatin’ dope hook-up!”

Quickly, Scout ran into his room and he packed up as much clothes and other necessities in a duffel bag. He didn’t care what he threw in there. He just needed to get out, and he needed to do this now. Any memories of his family was going to be left here, where it belonged. He didn’t care anymore. His brothers never asked how he was doing and now, seeing that his mother only cared about a masked man in a suit, his mother definitely wouldn’t care.

After packing up his things and throwing a sweatshirt on, he ran downstairs to take a final look at what he was leaving. He would be trading his harsh conditions to more harsh conditions, but at least no one would push a cigarette on his neck. He could still feel the burn on his skin and he hissed as he remembered what had happened. As of now, Jean was finally beginning to exit his dazed phase, but Scout wasn’t going to leave without giving him a message.

“And you man, you shudda stayed back in France where you belong! You ain’t nothin’ but an abuser and I hope you get killed for what you done to me!”

With that, Scout slammed the door behind him and walked away from the house. At last, he was free from the oppression he felt obligated to. His body and mind was set free from the abusive household that usually contained his mother, but now the masked man as well, which he didn’t care to name him. Now, he was his own man and he could do whatever he wanted to do. At the same time…

He was now alone in the world. He had nowhere to stay. Nowhere to sleep comfortably. Sure, many days he did sleep on a bench, under it if it was raining, but in the winter, he would allow his mom to shout as she pleased just so that he could have a warm bed to sleep in. He couldn’t do that anymore. It upset him a bit, but hey, he still had his job at least. He could eat there for free and he didn’t have to spend his money on other things. Still, when it rained at night, he wouldn’t have a place to stay.

He walked around at a fast pace at first, but as he felt more of an ache in his stomach from not eating all day, he walked slower and slower until he finally couldn’t take the aches anymore. He found a bench and slouched down on it, dropping his duffel bag next to his feet as he groaned. His stomach groaned back as well and he covered his face, hoping no one was next to him to hear it.

At the same time, he was crying as well. He felt like he lost what was left of his life, and now there was nothing to live for. Although he hated his mom, all he wanted from her was to show that she loved him, at least an ounce. It has been years since he saw that very bit of love he craved. He could never find that in another person now, especially if he was homeless. No one cared about the homeless. But he did feel a hand on his shoulder.

“Hey… What’s wrong partner?”

Scout knew exactly who it was, but he didn’t have the energy to swat him away nor retort. If anyone could see through his goggles, especially in the nighttime, they would see that Dell had concern for the boy. He didn’t like to see anyone get upset over anything, and it looked like the boy was going through a very rough patch. Despite the rude remarks earlier, he wanted to make him feel better. The older man walked around the bench and leaned down to the younger, noe putting both hands on his shoulders.

“Hm?”

“I… I got kicked out, man… I ain’t got a place to stay and I’m starvin’...”

“I see… That’s tough when a mother bird kicks a chick out of her nest… Stretch, how about we take a trip to the chicken shop right there and I’ll get you somethin’? Reckon it’s alright?”

Scout finally looked up to Dell and revealed his wet face to him. He wasn’t one to cry. He hated crying. But this was one of the ultra rare instances where he cried, especially in front of someone like this. At the same time, he realized where they were. They were in front of the Chicken Dynamo where he worked and behind him, there was the hole that was beginning to be dug this afternoon. It was quiet, and he couldn’t appreciate it more.

He finally nodded to the man and with that, Dell helped him up and picked up his duffel bag so that he could have it with him. He slung an arm around the other’s shoulder so that he could help him walk just across the street. Every step to Scout was now a struggle to even keep his legs up. From his extreme mood, his legs were shaking and he absolutely hated looking weak in front of anyone.

Once he noticed from the ground that he was finally inside, he sighed, happy to have made it this far, and was soon sat down on one of the chairs by Dell. Scout kept his head down, not wanting to show the person who was working tonight his face. He could hear the interactions going on, and who turned out working there was the crazed Aussie, he could tell by his voice. He always talked to himself, and he remembered one instance where he was working late with him and he outright yelled at him for no reason. Strangely enough, it wasn’t directed to him, yet he felt uncomfortable. Ahh, memories…

Eventually, he heard a small thud and he looked up to see a bucket of chicken in front of him, along with Dell and his own bucket. Scout blinked and he nodded, giving a soft smile as he took one of the legs, eating it very quickly. Dell chuckled at his hunger as he ate from his own bucket, munching on a thigh. He spoke gently to him, not wanting to rattle up too much of what happened earlier.

“Boy, it ain’t no Texas style chicken, but it’s sure worth the money, and I see you enjoy that stuff.”

Scout gave a simple nod to Dell and he continued to eat the leg as if he hadn’t eaten in days. Enjoyed? No, he loved this chicken. Today was actually one of those days that he wanted to eat it, and damn did it taste good. Maybe it was because he was crying. Or maybe because he tasted a bitter defeat and wanted to taste something that left like he won for once. He couldn’t tell. After swallowing the giant piece in his mouth, he swallowed and looked to the older male.

“Tell me, hardhat. What made you even want to buy me somethin’? I treated you like crap earlier.”

“Boy, I know a man who gave up when I see ‘im. I could tell that you’re goin’ through a rough patch, and I wanted to lighten up the load just a bit. But that duffel bag ain’t gunna help you be light either.”

“Yeah, no crap man. Ugh… Have your parents ever hated you?”

“Hmm… Nah, not that I recall. We were a church based family down at Bee Cave and they loved me a whole bunch. I left home when I was 20 and they were supportive of me and gave me everythin’ I needed before I began to work for Mann Co. Then they gave me a job and money for a place to be as our company built buildings everywhere. This would be my 78th project. Ain’t big by a longshot, but I’m workin’ up.”

Scout gave a sigh as he covered his face again. He was jealous of Dell. He had the perfect family and a job that made him happy. He could feel his throat tense up as he attempted to hide the tears. Why did everyone else’s life have to be perfect? How come he was the only one with the life nobody wanted? Dell could tell that the emotions came from that topic and he placed a hand on his shoulder once more.

“Reckonin’ you don’t have that kind of family, do you? Probably why you’re carryin’ that duffel bag, huh?”

“So!? What’s it to ya overalls!?”

Scout raised his head and glared at him, his sapphire eyes filled with tears. He felt defensive, and he didn’t want Dell to have any part of this. The older man raised a hidden eyebrow and sighed, scratching the back of his neck. He wanted to help out. He had to help out. This was just a terrible time for the boy, especially with nowhere to go like this. He gave a moment of silence before he finally gave his offer.

“I just maybe wanted to share my trailer with ya until we finish that building, or until you can find your bearings elsewhere. I know I don’t know ya much but ya seem like you’re troubled, and I want to do what I can to help.”

Scout’s eyes, for once, finally lightened up to him and he looked up at him to his goggled eyes. He didn’t know if he could trust this man. He wanted to, but at the same time he just met him today. Many construction workers were real creeps and wanted nothing but maybe this one was being genuine and wanted him to stay. What choice did Scout have? He had to choose for it, or else he would have to sleep under a wet bench for the night, if it decided to rain.

“Oh. Well… Yeah, yeah I guess it’ll work.”

Dell gave a big grin to Scout. He was true about his offer and didn’t want to see the young man in depression any longer. He was going to have someone to keep him company at night, something he usually wasn’t granted. He took the hand off of Scout’s shoulder as he patted it and continued to eat his chicken. He was going to make sure Scout got all of the help he needed in order to keep him happy.

“Alright boy. I’m glad ya agreed. Don’t wanna see y’all get cold out there.”

Scout was very touched by the other. Grateful. He knew homeless people would never get a chance like this. He kept his raw emotions inside now as he took a thigh from his own bucket and began to rip the skin and meat from it. The chicken, this time, didn’t taste like crap. It actually tasted amazing, like it was the first meal he had in ages. Or perhaps it was special since someone bought it for him.

Of course, he still didn’t like the idea of Dell running this whole project across from his work. He hated it and he had a feeling that he was going to really resent it, but all he had to do was remember this moment. He had to remember the fact that the man gave him a place to sleep, that he didn’t leave him on the streets. Indeed, he was thankful, and he needed to keep his feelings about the construction on the low.

As Scout finally finished his chicken bucket, Dell was only halfway done and looking towards the construction hole. He was frowning, seeming to be focused on something. Outside, he believed he could see shadows and he didn’t like that at all. He shook his head, knowing what needed to be done within the next few days, as he stood up, deciding to save the chicken for another day. He looked back down to Scout and gave a smile as he picked up the duffel bag as well.

“Well son, ready to go to your new home?”

Scout was more than ready to arrive at the other’s house, although he didn’t want to express anything yet. He nodded and he stood up on his own, having a bit of energy. He made his way to the trash can, throwing the bucket away, and decided to give a few choice words to the man behind the counter, who then blubbered about how he was going to tie him up and throw him in the Outback. Scout didn’t care, but after the oral tussle, he was ready.

“Yeah, let’s go.”

Dell nodded and carried his own bucket by the handle, leading the way to his temporary home. Scout followed along, looking around at the now much darkened city. It was passed sundown now, and the few people that were left were either scurrying home or hanging out, wanting some trouble. Scout was one of those people on his day off, but now, he didn’t know what he was going to do. He wouldn’t consider himself a changed man, but…

The path to the trailer was long. One block was passed, and then another. Scout was sure they passed six blocks before the Engineer finally was able to turn on one. Down one more though, turn, then three more. At the end of last block taken there was a group of trailers that were scattered across the dirt land behind a fence. A beep was heard and a gunlike thing looked to both Dell and Scout. The young boy jumped, but the older male held his shoulder before the other could shout out anything.

“I built that, boy. That there is called a sentry. It shoots intruders, but it ain’t gunna shoot you as long as you’re with me.”

As he spoke, the sentry looked away from the two and began to idly beep, waiting for the next victim. Scout sighed and nodded to the man, thanking him and God that his life was going to continue tonight. He followed Dell through the trailers and dirt roads leading to them and once at the trailer at the very end, the older male stopped and turned around, looking at his new roommate with a small smile.

“There ain’t a lot of room in here today, but I’ll see if I can find you some as the week goes by.”

With that, Dell opened the door and Scout was surprised to see what was inside. There were many things in boxes, which since some were over spilled he could tell that there were tools, nuts, and bolts inside. His eyes darted around, looking at all of the Texas styled decor such as animal skulls and stuffed animals alike, yet there weren’t as many stuffed animals as there were skulls. That was just the front room.

Scout’s feet slowly glided upon the wooden floor as he went to discover a few more rooms for himself. Although the kitchen was small, he could tell that Dell was a chef of some sorts, a mixture of sauces in a box upon the table. The bathroom was indeed small, but it had its own charm as the shower curtains had a bit of a western style to it, which matched the bathroom. He was sure Dell made absolute sure of it.

But the most surprising discovery was in Dell’s room. Even though the room was large, it was cramped because of the crafting table built inside. On top of it there was a robotic arm that layed perfectly across. To Scout it seemed like a masterpiece and he now wondered why the construction worker would have a robotic arm like that. It didn’t take him long before he was right behind him to tell him that reason.

“Also am building that myself. It needs more time to be built than that sentry out there, but it’s comin’ along nicely. I lost my arm when I started this career, but thank God for the insurance I got with it so I could get a prosthetic one. I’m buildin’ that one so I can have more accuracy when I build, not to mention so I don’t damage this one.”

Dell took off his elbow-long glove in order to show Scout just what it looked like. It indeed looked like a hand, but it looked nothing like a real one. It looked a lot like plastic and because of that, he hated showing anyone outside of his home, so he kept his glove on. He slipped it back on, realizing that Scout probably needed to get to his job tomorrow, and he gave a smile as well as a yawn.

“Well… Ahh… We should get you bunkered down for the night. I’ll clear off the couch for you in there.”

With that, he made his way to the front room, sighing as he leaned down and began to take the boxes of tools off the couch so that Scout could sleep. The young man wanted to help, but to keep his pride, he stepped away, watching the other do it himself. Besides, where were the boxes going to go anyway? He didn’t want Dell to lose his precious tools. The older man soon finished though and gave a sigh.

“Whew! There ya go. I’m gunna turn off the lights after findin’ ya some extra blankets and pillows.”

With that, Dell walked to the closet nearby and opened it, looking around for something, probably that matched the room. He grinned as he pulled out a fresh blanket and pillow, at least the color scheme matching the room. He gave them to Scout, who took them with a nod and began to set them up to his liking. The construction worker smiled and he nodded to him, just enjoying the fact that he didn’t let this kid get lost on the streets.

“Alright. Well, see ya in the mornin’ stretch! Oh, and if ya need anythin’ at all from the fridge or closet, don’t wake me up to get it. You’re more than welcome to it.”

Finally, Dell turned off the lights and closed the door to his own room, Leaving Scout to his thoughts as the young man fell asleep. This was amazing hospitality. He helped him, and he didn’t have to do it. Not many had a heart for the Bonstoner at all, considering he was a rude loud-mouthed brat. But Dell did, and it touched his own heart. He was willing to thank him for this, but… Not just yet. He wanted to keep his tough image alive.

For now, he was going to close his eyes and sleep, thankful that he didn’t have to sleep under a bench tonight.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's the first morning of Scout's new life. What will he make of it?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for the wait! I had a wonderful time at the con, although I did go for only two days.
> 
> As for you, Songlian, thank you for the nice comment! I'm sorry my own comment was from a guest. I thought I was logged in on my phone, but I actually wasn't. It was strange. Ahh well! You're about to see just how much more miserable Scout truly is!
> 
> For the rest of you, please be advised...
> 
> TRIGGER WARNING: SELF HARM
> 
> I don't want to lose any readers because of this, but please just keep this in mind for this chapter. If needed, I shall put up a warning on the story. As for when exactly, I don't know.
> 
> Otherwise, please enjoy this chapter!

Scout woke up to a wet feeling on his neck. His eyes popped open and he fell on the floor, giving a groan as he did so. Having just woke up, the world was spinning and at first he hadn’t had a clue on what was happening around him. It took a moment to regain his posture before he sat back up and began to raise his voice at the person responsible. He knew exactly who it was, and he wasn’t going to give him mercy this time.

“Overalls! What the hell do y--”

Scout stopped yelling when he realized that Dell’s goggles were off. Two deep blue eyes, filled with emotion, looked back at the lighter blue eyes as he expressed his concern with just a look. The boy was complexed and he did calm down as the older man gently helped him back on the couch again. Once that was finished, he held a small tube of incomprehensible words in his gloved hand and squeezed a small spot on his finger with the organic hand. He sighed as he began to rub it on his neck, frowning.

“I saw that burn on your neck and it was beginnin’ to fester. Didn’t want ya to suffer.”

Oh, right. That burn. That damned burn he got from the man dating his mother. No. He was using her just as much as she was using him. It was blatantly obvious, but he no longer cared. He was not only out of the situation, but out of his mother’s hair, just like she wanted. Just like she wanted with all of the other sons as well. At least they were more successful than him, he supposed.

Dell on the other hand wondered just what happened at the time of the injury. Without the cream, the burn mark was indeed beginning to fester, a bit of puss coming out. Before Scout even was able to feel it, the engineer had wiped a clean rag on the area to remove the fluids and began to place the cream on, which led to now. He really wanted to know what caused it, for whatever happened, he thought it shouldn’t happen to anyone else.

“Do you remember what happened when you got thi--”

“It doesn’t fuckin’ matter what happened ya damn country hick! It’s none of ya damn business!”

Dell was taken aback by Scout’s yelling at him. His expression had quickly went from shock to disappointment, and it was easier to spot without those goggles on his face. He just wanted to help him out and see him have a better life. He didn’t take the retort personally. He could tell that Scout had problems with wherever he lived, and he wanted to lighten the load. He sighed as he backed off for now, slowly walking towards the kitchen.

“Alright partner, it’s fine. You ain’t gotta tell me anythin’ that you don’t want me knowin’. I’m goin’ to be in here cookin’ breakfast, alright?”

Scout didn’t answer. Dell frowned a little bit and he turned his head away to make some breakfast. There indeed were some psychological issues with the boy, and he was determined to find out what exactly they were. He took out the eggs from the fridge and cracked a few of them in a small bowl, putting a few spices in the mixture. As he began to stir it, he heard a small cracked voice from the living room.

“M… My ma’s boyfriend…”

Dell turned around and placed the half stirred mixture on the table and slowly approached Scout, who was now holding the pillow like he depended on it and was either biting the nail on his thumb or was sucking a bit on it. Despite the Texan really hating adult men act like a baby, (that was, IF he was sucking on his thumb) he didn’t want to upset the other any further. He kneeled down to his level in a comfortable distance and spoke gently.

“What about ‘im? What’d he do?”

“H-He burned me with his fuckin’ cigarette man…! I got pissed and threw one ‘a his expensive glasses at him, and he tackled me down and burned me…! My ma used to do it too… But he… He does it much worse…”

Dell’s expression was shock when he heard Scout was suppressed to this behavior. He began to now get an idea on why the Boston boy acted so tough and mighty. In all reality, he had so many insecurities about himself and he didn’t want anyone to know. The walls were breaking down slowly, and he was happy about that, but what he wasn’t happy about was how the way he family treated him. Dell’s face lowered a bit and he scratched his bald head.

“That’s a damn shame boy… I can’t imagine what that would be like… But I reckon it was tough… Well you don’t have to worry about that with me. I don’t smoke, and I would never, EVER harm you or another person unless they wronged me in some way.”

Scout looked up to the man and bit his lip. He would be lying if he said he wasn’t skeptical, which indeed he was. Sure, the man never smoked, but did he drink like his mother did? Only time would tell. He, at the moment, was holding back all of his tears so that he could show the other that he indeed was tougher than he looked now, but he knew that this posture wasn’t very tough like at all. It upset him deeply.

Dell approached him slowly and once he was close to Scout he wrapped his arms around the boy, who widened his eyes, letting a few tears roll down his cheek. He dropped the pillow that was in his arms and he outstretched his own in order to hug him right back. The Texan felt happy that he too was being hugged and he let this last for a bit, which Scout was pleased. It allowed time for the tears to dry up at least just a little bit.

After the hug, Dell looked into Scout’s eyes, himself a bit happier than before, but Scout’s sad eyes remained the same. He could feel the city boy’s emotion from them as well as Scout could with him. It was comforting to the young man, but he didn’t want to show it just yet. The construction worker on the other hand tried to lighten the mood by patting the other’s shoulder and nodding with a grin.

“Well, I’m goin’ to continue making breakfast. Come to the dinin’ room when you are ready and able.”

Scout watched as Dell made his way inside the kitchen again. He had never felt this kind of affection from another person before. In his younger days, his brothers were very rowdy with him and gave him terrible advice, and it didn’t help that his mother was either drunk or sleeping with another guy in the same house and when that… fancy French guy came around… Things went from bad to worse, especially since he hated Scout the most.

Dell however was different. Under that gruff Texan look was a polite and gentle man who probably wouldn’t even hurt a fly, let alone a human. The only way he would is if they did wrong him, and Scout knew that he didn’t want to rub his true feeling in his face, the feeling of just wanting to hate him because of the construction. On the other hand, he gave him a place to stay, and he couldn’t be any more thankful than he already was.

After clearing his thoughts and wiping his tears, Scout slowly got off the couch and made his way to the table, sitting down at it as his eyes looked to what Dell was doing as he cooked. There were so many ways to cook an egg, but he never saw one being cooked like this, well, at least in real life. Dell whistled as he flipped the egg by just the pan with his unorganic hand and began to place some sauces where the yolk was. He then put a bit of pepper on it and proceeded to flip it again, doing the same with different sauces. It made Scout’s mouth water a bit and as Dell turned around to see him at the table, he grinned and approached him.

“Oh, look at the scorpion who finally came out to eat. Here, I made it special for ya. Hope you enjoy it.”

Scout wasn’t sure if “scorpion” was a compliment or an insult, but he took it neutrally, just wanting what Dell was making. The country man flipped the egg on the other’s plate and walked back and forth as he placed some bacon and toast on the other’s plate as well. Scout grinned and he used his silverware to barely cut the egg, the sauces dribbling out of the yolk, and stuff it in his mouth. His eyes lit up, surprised that something so plain could taste so good.

“Wow overalls! You do a pretty good job cookin’ there. Who taught ya?”

“My mama did. Told me I should know how to take care of myself. I added to the recipe when I knew how food ticked.”

Dell chuckled as he began to make his own egg, doing the same thing as he did with Scout’s. As he cooked, he watched the city boy eat rather quickly and it just made the country man happy to see his guest enjoy his food. He never really had anyone over in his life to cook for, so this was his first. After the preparations were complete, he made his way to the table and sat down, cutting his own eggs. Something came up in his mind.

“Aww shucks. I forgot to ask for your name.”

“Mmm mmnnn iff Scmmfft.”

“Dagget son, don’t talk with your mouth full. It’s rude.”

Scout stopped to look at Dell for a moment with a look. He had never been told not to talk with his mouth full, maybe because his mother never really cared about what he said, or maybe because there was a house full of boys, so there never really was any manner practice. The boy chewed on his food before swallowing and giving a small gasp of breath, losing it along with his food. He then spoke much more clearly.

“My name is Scout.”

“Scout? Haven’t heard a male bein’ named Scout before, but I reckon there’s a first for everythin’.”

“Actually, she named me Scout because she wanted a girl. She kinda knew it was a unisex name, so she went with it. I’m the last of the family.”

Dell nodded to Scout’s story as he took a bite of toast, crunching on it thoughtfully. His life seemed quite bad. Much worse than what he had to personally deal with. He had told Scout the truth about himself, but there was much much more to it than what was really revealed. He wasn’t going to say anything yet. He didn’t want to scare Scout off so soon, not when he had nowhere to stay. Outside the thoughts, realizing that he never got any orange juice for the both of them, he got up and grabbed a couple of plain glasses, pouring some in them.

“So she wanted to calm the family down because she had a ragtag of boys in the family, but she wasn’t as lucky as she had hoped. It’s a shame…”

“Yeah, I guess… Not to mention the fact that my brothers are much more successful than I am. They got all their schoolin’ done and here I am havin’ none of it because my ma refused to pay for it cuz she wanted a trip to France to see that douchebag of a man.”

“Sorry to hear that buddy…”

Scout gave a silent shrug and was soon presented with a glass of orange juice, which he half downed from being so thirsty. Dell brought his own orange juice over to his side and sat down with it, sipping it as he looked to Scout with sad eyes. It was a shame he never went to school. The country man did graduate from college and pursued engineering. It’s what he knew he was good at, and he proved it by being the head of the project he was doing now. He would never give up that title.

But hearing that Scout never went to college at all broke his heart. He really wanted to take him, but he knew that it would destroy his wallet now, seeing that college was much more expensive than back then. Home schooling was a way, but it wouldn’t really get him anywhere. Well, at least maybe he could help on the construction site and earn a bit more money than at Chicken Dynamo, but he wasn’t going to push it on him just yet.Thinking of work, he remembered that Scout needed to go.

“Oh shucks! Do you need to go to work yet? I’m holdin’ you back if you do!”

“Nah. My shift doesn’t start for another couple hours.”

Dell relaxed as Scout told him the news, He sat back and continued to eat his breakfast after wiping his brow. The Bostonian chuckled a bit and he raised his fork, eating more of the eggs. It was just an amazing feeling to have something so delicious for the first time in years in his stomach. Dell was enjoying watching the other eat, but his expression turned to a bit of concern as he tried to speak, after swallowing of course.

“Oh, by the way, do you have a wash machine? I need to put my uniform in before today.”

“Oh, yeah I do. Just go in there. Soap’s there. Everythin’ like that.”

Scout gave a happy sigh as he looked down the hall. It was a bit dark in the room, but in the corner there indeed was a washing machine. He was thankful for it too, for his was always being used by his mother, and she never let him use it, or that he just got too lazy to wash his uniform. Now, there was a distinct smell of grease, and even Dell knew it wasn’t from the bacon he cooked.

“And there’s a shower in the bathroom too, and you’re more than welcome to use it.”

Scout couldn’t be more happy than now to have a shower and a clean uniform. He quickly finished his breakfast before getting up to find his duffel bag and inside an extra uniform for him to wear that needed to be washed clean from the grease of the chicken. He made his way to the washing room and found the switch to turn on the light, doing his business there (of course, with difficulty from not doing laundry in a long time.)

After letting it run, he left the room and found the towels Dell pointed out to him at night and took one for washing and one for drying, soon making his way to the bathroom. Dell watched the boy with intrigued eyes and leaned over, eating pieces of his bacon. He knew he didn’t have to worry about him, but he wanted to watch him to make sure he was alright. Sure, there was a smile on his face now, but like before, it could change..

Scout was extremely happy to finally take off his clothes in the bathroom and to jump in the shower to get clean for his day of work. First his red greasy polo came off, then his black stained casual pants, then his plain white boxers. He turned the water to a warm temperature and jumped in, feeling the droplets run down his body. He extended his hands and he gave a chuckle, only to remember that he had his bandages on…

Oh, those bandages… They weren’t there just so he could hold his own to a fight, but for a much deeper, darker reason. If he took those bandages off, he would have to relive through the most painful things that he had to deal with back at his mother’s house. He didn’t want to, but knowing the bandages were also soiled from grease, dirt, and god knows what other things, he had no choice in the matter.

He sighed and began to unwrap both bandages off of his hands, heavily breathing and prepping for the memories he was going to have to go through. As he took them both off, he began to see the scars he self inflicted on him and his eyes widened a bit. They were scattered all over every inch of his hand: his wrist, his knuckles, his fingers, even his palms. They were a dark red from his blade, but he could remember why he did every single one of them.

It all started when he was just ten years old. His second youngest sibling was going through a bit of a phase and he showed Scout how to do it. He said that it helped him relieve the stress he was going through and that he should try it sometime, for it actually worked. One night, his mother got into a drunken argument over one of her boyfriends about Scout and the boy was in his room, sobbing. He looked to a pocket knife he had in his night stand and eventually used it on his wrist in order to relieve the stress. It did work, and eventually, Scout was mellow enough to sleep, but not without a mess of blood everywhere.

As his life got worse, the cuts began to grow deeper and longer. One day, the French man came to his home and began to talk with his mom about taking her to France with him. Scout never liked the idea and he did his best to protest along with his brothers, saying that it wasn’t fair. But eventually, one by one, they either left the home or stopped caring and then the poor boy never had any real support. He was left all by himself to do this, and as he did, his mother said some rather hurtful things, he was sure came from the evil man’s mouth.

“Ya know what ya brat? I don’t care anymore. All ya brothers left, so what are ya still freakin’ doin’ here? If I wanna go to France, I’m goin’!”

That was it. That’s what made Scout cut so much deeper every night. This time, no matter how deep or long he cut into his skin, he couldn’t make the stress disappear. It continued to linger in his mind and every hurtful word she said after that, he would spend cutting himself. Now, he was sure he didn’t do it for a relief of stress, but because he felt like he deserved every inch of the blade that cut into him. His mother didn’t care. His brothers most likely didn’t care. He was on his own from the very start…

Every night, he would crawl into bed, the bandages covering his whole hands, and wonder to himself, ‘What am I doing here? Why was I made in the first place?’ There were many tears cried at night, but the blood was more frequent. It showed his hurt more, and it just showed how much he wanted to end his life. He wanted to end his life, but he had to just keep going. He knew he had to, or else how could he find--

“‘Ey! Scout! It’s one. Are you gettin’ out of the shower yet? You’re goin’ to be late!”

Scout widened his eyes as he realized where exactly he was. He looked at the curtains, showing the Texas flavor on it. That wasn’t at his house. Neither was Dell himself. He looked down at the water, seeing a clear flow go down the drain with no red substances anywhere. He looked to his wrists to see if there was any blood oozing, but besides the scars from his previous cuts, there was nothing wrong. He began to shake and cover his eyes, crying to himself.

“Scout? ...Stretch...?”

Dell was now worried. He frowned a bit, his goggles now on, hiding his true feelings. He was about to go to work, but now, he didn’t know whether or not he wanted to leave Scout. He seemed upset over something, even though he had a wide grin on his lips before he went in the shower. Scout on the other hand continued to cry on the other side, not able to get up for at least another hour.

Once he did however, he slowly washed himself and dried himself off before coming out of the shower with a towel over his waist. His face, minus from the heat of the shower, looked pale and he was looking on the ground. Dell, however, had changed into a comfy blue t-shirt and some grey sweatpants, no goggles, sitting on the couch and waiting for Scout to come out. When he finally saw him come out, the Texas raised his bald head and gave a sympathetic and warm smile.

“Hey buddy… I heard you cryin’ in there. That ain’t no way to go to work. Here, use my phone to call in. You really shouldn’t go to work feelin’ sad like that.”

Scout looked up to Dell to see him point towards his home phone on the table besides the couch. The city boy looked to it and nodded gently before mindlessly walking towards the couch and sitting next to the older man. As Scout began to dial the number of his work, Dell noticed the scars on his hands and he frowned deeply. He never really liked someone who hurt themselves, but he knew Scout was doing this for a reason. He was going to wait until Scout was done with his phone call.

“‘Ey, boss? ...Yeah… I ain’t comin’ in tonight. I ain’t feelin’ good. ...I know, I’ll make it up tomorrow… Alright…. Bye…”

Even Scout’s voice sounded like death, and Dell knew it. Something triggered in the shower, and he had a clue on what it was. After the boy hung up the phone, the country man grabbed onto the other’s hand and examined it, looking closely to the scars on them. some were small and not so deep, but as the scars got lower, there were much more deeper ones, which made Dell frown even more.

“Boy, why would you do this to yourself…? You know you are worth a lot more than that, right?”

Scout stayed silent. He looked down to the floor, his short hair still dripping with the water from the shower. Dell never really liked silent answers, but he decided that it was enough. He had already spilled so much today, and he didn’t want to push him any further. Instead, Dell got up and went into the bathroom. After a few moments he returned and he brought a new pack of bandages out, ripping some up and putting it on Scout’s hands, being careful not to make them too tight.

“Listen, I don’t know what you’ve been through. In fact, I don’t know if I want to know. But at least know that I’m here for you and I ain’t goin’ to leave your side. I can tell that you’ve been put through a lot.”

After wrapping up the hands well enough to the point the scars weren’t showing, Dell leaned over to hug Scout, rocking the upset boy back and forth a bit. The boy eventually hugged back, biting his lip as he tried to hide his tears from the man. He wanted to keep his tough image longer, but if he cried once again in front of him, it was going to become nonexistent. Dell continued to hold onto him until he realized that the other was practically naked, so he backed off and blushed a bit.

“O-Oh, umm… Heheh… J-Just go ahead and get dressed in some comfortable clothes now. We can watch a movie or somethin’ if you want afterward to forget about everythin’.”

Scout was red as well, but he nodded to the idea, just as long as this never happened again. He wasn’t gay. In fact, he didn’t even know what he was. He definitely liked women, but this... Whatever happened here… He didn’t know if he liked. It felt nice, but… A guy? It made no sense to him. Still, he got up and found his duffel bag, getting a pair of his pajamas, and running to the bathroom to put them on.

It was just a movie. There was nothing wrong with taking a day off and relaxing from a bad memory. It was just a movie. Nothing was meant over the hug. It was just a movie.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things seemed to have stayed well for Scout, but will it get better or worse?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another chapter (raw as always) has been complete! This one might be a bit shorter than 2 and 3 because I have been running a roleplay blog for the same Scout, who I have decided to name Peter. His real name may be integrated into the story when it comes down to it, but please enjoy!
> 
> If you would like to follow or RP with my Scout, the blog is here: http://sprinting-shortstop.tumblr.com/

It had been a week since Scout moved in to Dell’s abode. Since then, the technician had changed the settings for his sentry back at home so that Scout could come around at night without being shot at. Some days the city boy would have work until 3 in the afternoon, in which Dell had never gotten home from the construction site yet. Sometimes, Scout would get off late at night, the country man already home, more likely asleep than awake.

On the days that they were both working at the same time, Scout would grumble over the fact that Dell was indeed still working on the complex. The noise had gradually gotten worse and the more workers there were, the louder everything became. Around one was the worst and everyone, even Dell, was working on the project. It meant less customers for the business and despite how happy he was that the line of cooking was actually stuck because of this, it really pissed Scout off.

At the same time, he had to remind himself that Dell was the one that housed him. He was the one that was there when his family wasn’t. He was a deeply caring man who had a heart to let him in, and Scout always wanted to pay him back somehow. Sometimes, when Dell came in to buy the chicken for his crew, the fast food worker would try to give him a discount of at least 33 percent. Though the construction worker always refused, the other would insist that it was for rent until he finally gave up and took the discount.

Nights were a much better time, for the construction crew ended at 5 and would pack up and leave, also leaving their machines behind. The only noises heard were a passive beep from a sentry built by Dell there as well. Scout wondered why in the world he needed something like that there out of all places, but it didn’t matter to him. He wasn’t going to ask, only to get a silly explanation later on.

At times however, the oh-so esteemed Aussie worked with him as well. The one who always talked to himself and seemed like he was about to yell whenever he got pissed at something. Sure, he worked hard and kept to himself most days, but there were times when he would speak, and to be honest, he wasn't a bad guy at all. He just had a whole bunch of issues, including what was on his mind. Or in it anyway.

Tonight, he seemed to be laughing about something. Scout could barely understand what exactly he was talking about, but it seemed as if he was talking to an invisible wall, something he had to deal with for hours on end. He wasn’t going to tell him to stop. Even when he did before, he just never did. He just had to ignore him, letting him talk to himself about whatever it was that happened during his times.

“Heheh, that campah van… Found some good possums in there for dinnah… Killin me, mate…”

Scout closed his eyes, drifting off to his thoughts on what happened this week. He remembered that when the two were actually home, him and Dell had moved some boxes so that when the boy came home he would have more of a place to live in and not have to worry about knocking any of the tools over. It only took them a few days before all the boxes were cleared and things were put away for the time being.

“There. That shouldda given you some room.”

And indeed, Scout had gotten some room. He was happy to have somewhere to sleep with a bit of space so that he could stretch his legs and get comfortable. The room looked a lot more tidy now and the wooden floor was wide enough for Scout to slip around on with his socks, if he chose to. With the blanket and the pillow, it was then easier to fall asleep and move around in the morning.

But no matter how much cleaning Dell did for the other, Scout could never end the nightmares he had of his family back home. It didn’t matter what happened in the beginning of the dream, the French man would come in and eventually torture him, by worse means than burning his skin with the tip of a cigarette. Sometimes it was cutting him with his knife. Sometimes it was whipping him. Sometimes it was even shooting him, killing him right on the spot.

When Scout had those dreams he would wake up in the morning with a very cold sweat. He could never wake up before any of those things happened and he had no idea why. Maybe it was the fact that it was part of the torturing the man wanted to put him through. He wanted him to stay in this nightmare just so that he could win. It terrified Scout so much and he just wished it was over.

At least things did get a little better when Dell wiped away the sweat in the morning before making breakfast. Although it never truly cured anything, it made Scout feel better that someone was at least there in his life. He was getting used to the Texan taking care of him and keeping him as happy as he could be with the dreams and the basic fact that his family abandoned him. Scout truly appreciated everything.

And as always, whether it was breakfast, lunch, or dinner, Dell had made the perfect meal. He always threw a bit of a country style in it and made the meal differ from what Scout used to eat all the time. A hint of a spice here and a dash of a sauce there, the city boy never disliked what the country man had made. Every dish was an adventure for his taste buds and the chicken at Chicken Dynamo could never beat it.

Oh that chicken… He couldn’t stand it now. Every time he would attempt to eat it, he would gag and spit it out. What kind of cooking was this? It wasn’t right to deep fry every single thing, like he thought it was before. Sometimes, just so he could have lunch there, he would ask Dell to bring some sauces with him so that he could try to do stuff like this at work. It made the chicken a bit more tolerable.

Tonight though, he decided that he was going to eat back at the trailer. He knew by the time Dell got back he was going to be asleep, but on those nights he was, there were a few microwaveable meals he could have, anything but that chicken. He was just glad that not a whole lot of people would stop in tonight, for they would ruin his thoughts. Thankfully though, two rolled along and it was closing time, for the Aussie anyway. Scout made his way to the punch machine and turned to the other.

“Yo Harold.”

“Yeah, I put those teeth ‘round me neck… Could use ‘em for--”

“Harold! It’s closin’ time, I’m punchin’ out!”

Harold snapped back into the real world, his eyes looking to Scout with a blink. He didn’t usually pay attention to the boy, but when spoken to, he listened. It was the only time when he did. Oddly enough, he was the one to close the store and make sure everything was put away nicely, despite him speaking to… Whoever it was. Now speaking to Scout, he gave a smile to him and nodded.

“Ok mate. Have a good night.”

Scout nodded and punched himself out, checking his schedule afterwards, sighing happily. He had the day off tomorrow. Good. He needed a break from here. He strolled his way out of the store, Harold waving back to him and beginning to turn all of the lights off outside. Without the yellow neon and fluorescent lights from the windows and signs, the streets were much more darker and seemed much more dangerous. Nothing that Scout couldn’t handle.

He began to walk back to his new home, thinking about the night he was going to have. Like always, he was going to have a bad dream, wake up with a sweat, and probably watch some TV while Dell went to work on that damn apartment complex. At least he didn’t have to hear the construction where he was going to be, for the only noise that he could hear was the sentry beeping, moving its neck around to see if there were any intruders on the property.

As he walked the first two blocks, Scout felt fine, but it wasn’t until the next few blocks that he felt like someone was following him. It felt like a dark presence and every time the boy turned around, he saw nothing, not even a shadow. It disturbed him, but he also smelt a familiar scent he couldn’t stand. He didn’t know where it was coming from, but he knew he had to quickly make his way back home.

The trailer was dark as he walked in, locking the door behind him. Not once has anyone broke into the home and stole anything or threatened the two. It was thanks to that sentry just outside that they could live safely without anyone coming in and stealing anything. Not that anyone would want to or even do that. Even without the sentry, the men were outside most of the night, either because they couldn’t sleep or they wanted to chat with each other. Maybe the sentry was just a security measure and Dell just never felt safe. Oh well.

He began to relax as he walked into the kitchen, turning on the light. He was about to make his way to the freezer to get his meal for the night until he saw something on the table. He looked at it for a moment, noticing it was a tupperware box filled with food. The contents inside were still warmer than lukewarm and contained a few pieces of ribs, corn on the cob, and asparagus, all homemade country style. Next to the container was a note.

‘Made this before I went to bed. Enjoy!’

Scout smiled at the note, happy that Dell cared enough about him to make him a meal. Why would he do this for him? There were meals in the freezer. Maybe he just wanted the other to eat more healthy than the darn chicken and freezer meals that were processed through a factory. Homemade always brought out the best of food, and after tasting the countryman's cooking, Scout couldn’t agree more.

He began to eat, giving a happy hum at the taste of the ribs. Despite not being as warm as off the grill, they still tasted delightful with the choice mixture of sauces. It was a perfect blend, something he would never get tired of. He continued on with the corn and asparagus, perfect in their own ways, and even mixed a few bites in with each other just to get an even more perfect taste. There just was nothing better.

After about fifteen minutes of the pleasurable food, it was gone, and as much as Scout was disappointed, he was tired as well. He placed the container in the sink, wanting to clean it tomorrow. He yawned and turned off the kitchen lights, making his way towards the couch. He layed down it it, looking at the ceiling and just thinking about all the great things Dell had done for him up to this point.

He acted like a parent when no one else did. He gave him a place to live so that he didn’t have to worry about finding a place to stay. Of course, he could buy food at Chicken Dynamo, but sleeping on the ground would be rough. He already felt that before. The times when Dell actually did drink, he never did drink excessively like the boy’s mom did and never abused him or insulted him. Thankful for what he had now, Scout began to close his eyes and go to sleep.

_It was dark and Scout could only see the outline of two men, along with the silhouette of a smoke trail. At the end of it, a red dot formed and it moved away from the shape, jumping out of the hand. What was going on? Scout needed to know. The nervous male began to make his way towards the outline, but it began to move back, a few groans being heard. Scout quickly took a few more steps closer until he heard a familiar voice._

_“Arrêtez. Not one step closer, or else he will be gut like a fish.”_

_The lights finally came on and Scout realized who exactly it was and what was happening. The Frenchman had Dell in a headlock, a knife close to his throat. The Texan looked beaten up, the same injuries as Scout had on himself with the cigarette butts, whips, and the sort. For the safety of Dell, Scout forced himself to stop, only giving a shocked face of despair and defeat. The Frenchman chucked as he extended his knife hand._

_“See all of zhis?”_

_The lights came on, pieces of machines broken everywhere. There was one still standing, making malfunctioning noises. Scout turned his head to it and realized it was one of the sentries Dell built. His eyes widened and he realized that there was some kind of machine on there, sparks flying from both of them. It didn’t take long before it exploded, Dell yelling in shock, which turned to pain when the man stabbed his unorganic arm._

_“Dell!!”_

_“Scout!!”_

_“Both of you, shut up! Yes, I have done all of zhis damage, and I am about to damage you in more ways zhan I could’ve ever done before! Say au revoir to your little friend!”_

_This tome, when the man moved his knife back to Dell’s neck he swiped it across. blood spilling on the ground. Scout’s eyes widened and he made his way towards the falling body, which became limp in his arms once he caught it. He was crying, shaking the body in his arms. Dell was dead. He would never be able to find a man like this again, to take care of him and to treat him like he should’ve been treated a long time ago._

_“Dell!!! Dell no!! No!!! NO!!!!”_

“Scout!! Scout wake up!!”

Scout’s eyes widened as he gave another cry, him looking at the person who was attempting to wake him up. As his mind came back to reality, it became clear that Dell was alive and safe, something that never happened in his dreams. The boy was shivering violently and Dell was over him, successfully attempting to shake him awake. Both were glad that they were ok, but Scout then started to cry. Dell frowned and used the handkerchief he kept on the table next to Scout to wipe his tears and sweat away.

“Oh boy, this dream must’ve been real bad, huh?”

Scout didn’t answer to his question. He just continued to cry, shaking still as Dell wiped his face clean over and over again. He never liked seeing Scout like this. It upset him greatly and he wanted to see his cocky side more than this side. The solution he had for now was something he wasn’t sure if the boy would accept, being that they knew each other for a week. He didn’t want to rush this, but…

“Y’know, if you really want to, you could always sleep in my bed with me. I’m not sure if it’ll help, but it’s better than bein’ alone.”

Scout barely could lift his head to look up at the other, but he eventually gave a nod. This was low for him, but it was better than living the night in those nightmares over and over again. He didn’t want to feel himself getting hurt, or Dell getting hurt or killed. Seeing that he agreed, Dell gave a nod and cleaned up the rest of his sweat and tears, putting the handkerchief on the table again and helping him up.

“C’mon… There ya go. Nice and easy now…”

Scout had a hard time walking because of his shaking, but he slowly made his way to Dell’s room. Sure, it was a plain room to be in, the boxes of tools and parts now in the workshop corner, but it was still better than not having a room at all. Not that it bothered Scout sleeping on a couch. He felt himself being placed on the bed, getting help putting his legs up as well and eventually him crawling in.

“There… Here, I gotcha…”

Dell held the shivering boy as he whimpered, keeping close to the other. Sure, the Texan was built a bit on the heavy side, but he was extremely warm and easy to cuddle up to. With this new feeling, although it took him a while to sleep, he fell asleep and didn’t have any problems for the rest of the night. Dell was happy, but he knew that because of this, the two had to do something tomorrow, just the two of them, so that Scout could forget about the dream, or maybe even talk about it.

For now, he was going to let Scout dream a good dream for once, or at least dream without that Frenchman hurting him.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What are the two really thinking about each other?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another raw chapter is out! I apologize this chapter is short. The blog I run always needs me to be on so I can reply to everyone and I can never catch a break there! But, if anything, I promise that the pages will at least reach the page 4 mark on Google Drive, so there will always be some form of action!
> 
> Please enjoy what you can from this chapter!

The night ended up becoming much more calmer than in recent days. Instead of Scout whining and screaming in his sleep, he was silent, cuddling his body up to Del. The older man would be there for support, and if he heard the other whimper in his sleep, he would gently throw his arms around him, almost cradling him. He shooshed as he spoke gently in his ear, making sure it was a soothing whisper.

“Shh… It’s alright partner…”

It worked. Scout stopped his whimpers and cuddled right back into Dell’s arms, nuzzling his face on his chest. To the Texan, it was quite welcome, knowing that there was always a bit of something missing from his life. He never had a lover back at home to take care of. It was hard to believe, but he had always been a single man throughout his life. He had many girlfriends in the past, and he did propose to a few of them, but in the end… He began to fall asleep on that thought.

The morning rolled along and Dell opened his eyes, looking at the sleeping boy who was laying on his chest. He smiled and began to stroke his head a bit with his organic hand, loving the way his hair felt. Sure, it was greasy from all of that chicken frying, but a little bit of a wash and it would be fine. Besides, he wanted to comfort him. It made the countryman feel more like a father to him.

But… Did he really want to be a father to him? He knew there was maybe something a bit more to it than just acting like a father figure. He barely knew the guy, but he sure did feel a bit of something. It was a crush, and never before has he felt this big of one in his lifetime. The women that he proposed to, the years wasted with them, only to have empty feelings about all of them. It wasn’t that he was a heartbreaker by any means, he never meant to hurt anyone. But in the end…

He was gay. Despite what his parents truly wanted from him, he was attracted to men, and to only a select few. He didn’t flirt with anyone. Who would when one didn’t necessarily want to give himself away? He wanted to get off that path, wanted to be the normal guy and be with women, but they never were real attracted to them at all. Pretty, yes. Beautiful, yes. Attractive, not at all. He wanted to break the cycle…

But seeing Scout, it made him wonder just how much longer he could keep his facade up, and having him in his arms made it much worse. It was hard to decide just exactly what he wanted to do at this moment, but his hand continued to stroke his hair, closing his eyes. He wished he could just tell Scout about this and maybe even get to know him a bit better, but he supposed it could wait. For the time being anyway.

Eventually, Scout’s eyes opened and he gave a groan, stretching his body a bit as he did. He had no idea where he was at the moment and he gave a few inaudible words to himself. Not only could he hear a semi quick heartbeat, but he could also feel a hand combing his hair and he looked up to the culprit. His eyes widened and he turned red as he lifted himself from the spot, crossing his arms. What exactly was going on?

Dell blinked, unsure of why Scout acted like this. Maybe he was upset over the fact that he did sleep with another guy. It made the Texan frown and look away as well, unable to say anything. He screwed it up. Whatever they had now, he was scared that he screwed it up. He wanted to care for this boy, but how could he if he were to never look at him again? The man softly spoke, hoping to get a response out of the other.

“Umm, g’morning partner.”

“Mornin’...”

Ok, Scout didn’t sound angry. It was a good sign. Dell could tell it was more along the lines of a pout. A bit better than what he originally thought. He began to now think that maybe it was because he didn’t want to sleep with anyone, but in order to keep the nightmares away he was forced to. Nothing to be ashamed about. A small smile crooked in his lips and he looked to Scout again.

“Have anythin’ planned for the day?”

“Well, I ain’t got work, so nah, not really.”

“Good, because I kinda wanted to take ya outta here and get t’ know ya a bit better. You are stayin’ with me after all.”

Scout looked back to Dell slowly and he raised his eyebrows. Really? He was going to take him out and actually do something? His mother would never do this with him, so it was a bit welcome. After allowing a few more long moments to pass, due to the awkwardness he felt with laying with another guy, he turned his whole body around and he nodded, giving a light smile. This time, it was genuine and not smug.

“Yeah, y’know what? That actually sounds pretty good. I’ll go out.”

With that, Dell gave a bigger grin, happy to hear him say this. He was excited to plan something with Scout today and he was going to make sure that the boy had the best time of his life. He stretched his body and slowly got up, feeling aches and pains from working. He knew that a shower would help with most of the pain, but he felt as if Scout needed one more. He looked to the other and gave a nod.

“Better take a shower before we go.”

Scout nodded to Dell as he made his way out of his room and into the front room. He was a bit happy to have left the room, for the awkward feeling he felt left. He didn’t understand why he had this feeling all of a sudden, but all he knew was that he was beginning to bond with him, and he never had this feeling before, not even with his mother. He felt close, but being his first time, he didn’t know if he wanted to run off or get closer. Only time would tell.

Still, the shower was one thing he needed to take. Scout grabbed a red and black checkered shirt along with a black pair of pants with boxers and socks before he made his way to the shower, turning on the water, and finally getting in. He didn’t spend any time thinking about the past or any other thoughts. He just wanted to go out, to get out of the house minus work, to have Dell to hang out with.

Dell… He couldn’t get him off his mind. For some reason, the thought of the man being happy made him happy. It was strangely pleasant, and he hoped that he could make him more happy than he was now. At the same time, did he want to take it that far? He knew that he was straight. He knew he liked women, especially Miss Pauline, the woman that solemnly ever came into his work to get at least a sandwich and a small drink. But no matter what he did to try to impress her, everything came short and he was always unsuccessful.

But Dell though… Besides parenting needs Scout craved, the man was there for him and did his best to heal the burn on his neck (which was beginning to go away, not leaving a scar), kept him fed and happy as he could outside of work, and now, kept the nightmares at bay when he slept. Not to mention his accent was quite cute… No! He was straight! He liked girls, not men! He had to repeat that to himself in his mind as he washed his greasy hair.

Eventually, he came out of the shower and quickly dried himself, putting on his clothes and brushing his teeth afterwards. He was sure that he wanted to look decent, just in case a lady walked past him. Oh what was he kidding? With Dell by his side, no lady would ever look at him. Or maybe it was to impress the Engineer with his looks. ...Nah, it was for the ladies! He quickly brushed his hair before finally leaving the bathroom.

Meanwhile, Dell was in his own room, preparing himself. He had no hair to brush, so instead he threw on a country style hat. Having taken a shower last night, he wore a plain blue t-shirt with a light leather jacket to go over it, a pair of dark blue jeans, and a pair of leather boots that went up his ankles. He didn’t want to look too country, suspecting that Scout hated that kind of stuff, so he did all he could honestly do without scaring him off.

He was happy that he was ready before Scout came in and looked to him with his smile. Dell was sure that he could see a tiny blush in the boy, but he wasn’t going to push him about it. He just wanted Scout to have a good time and he didn’t want to spoil his happy moment. He nodded as he placed his wallet in his pocket, ready to go out the door. God, did the city boy ever look so cute. He wished he could let him know.

“Ready partner?”

“Yeah!”

With that, the two headed out the door, leaving the small trailer to itself with the sentry on guard. As they walked away, the beeping seemed to get quieter and quieter, the safety of their home seeming to get smaller with every step they took away. The two only had each other to depend on. Not that it really mattered, Scout was taking looks around him, soon letting his gaze drop down to the red Converse shoes he was wearing.

No matter what, he felt like something was following him wherever he went outside...


End file.
